How Soon Can You Drink Coffee After Taking Levothyroxine?
Around 64% of American adults currently consume coffee every day. According to a study conducted by the NCA, this is the highest rate since 2012. Worldwide, experts estimate that people consume around 2.25 billion cups of coffee per day. Researchers have looked at the benefits of drinking coffee for conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and liver disease. There is evidence to support some, but not all, of these claims.
Coffee contains a number of useful nutrients, including riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin (vitamin B3), magnesium, potassium, and various phenolic compounds, or antioxidants. Some experts suggest that these and other ingredients in coffee can benefit the human body in various ways.
Recent studies found that coffee drinkers are less likely to die from some of the leading causes of death in women: coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease. Your body may process glucose (or sugar) better. Drinking one to two cups of coffee a day may help ward off heart failure when a weakened heart has difficulty pumping enough blood to the body. Caffeine is not only linked to a lower chance of developing Parkinson’s disease, but it may also help those with the condition better control their movements.
What is levothyroxine?
Levothyroxine is a prescription drug. It comes as a tablet or capsule you take by mouth. It also comes as an injectable solution that’s only given by a healthcare provider.
Levothyroxine oral tablet is available as the brand-name drugs Levoxyl, Synthroid, and Unithroid. It’s also available as a generic drug. Generic drugs usually cost less than the brand-name version. In some cases, they may not be available in every strength or form as the brand-name drug.
Levothyroxine oral tablet may be used as part of a combination therapy. This means you may need to take it with other medications.
Levothyroxine oral tablet is used to treat hypothyroidism. This is a condition when your thyroid gland produces too little thyroid hormone. Levothyroxine also can be used to treat goiter, which is an enlarged thyroid gland. It also treats certain types of thyroid cancer.
How it works
Levothyroxine belongs to a class of drugs called hormones. A class of drugs is a group of medications that work in a similar way. These drugs are often used to treat similar conditions. Levothyroxine works by providing the thyroid hormone that your thyroid gland would produce if it were working normally.
How should levothyroxine be taken?
Levothyroxine comes as a tablet and a capsule to take by mouth. It usually is taken once a day on an empty stomach, 30 minutes to 1 hour before breakfast. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take levothyroxine exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor.
Swallow capsules whole; do not chew or crush them. Do not remove the capsule from the package until you are ready to take it.
Take the tablets with a full glass of water as they may get stuck in your throat or cause choking or gagging.
If you are giving levothyroxine to an infant, child, or adult who cannot swallow the tablet, crush and mix it in 1 to 2 teaspoons (5 to 10 mL) of water. Only mix the crushed tablets with water; do not mix it with food or soybean infant formula. Give this mixture by spoon or dropper right away. Do not store it for later use.
Your doctor will probably start you on a low dose of levothyroxine and gradually increase your dose.
Levothyroxine controls hypothyroidism but does not cure it. It may take several weeks before you notice a change in your symptoms. Continue to take levothyroxine even if you feel well. Do not stop taking levothyroxine without talking to your doctor.
How soon can you drink coffee after taking levothyroxine?
Levothyroxine is absorbed in the small intestine and is 70%-80% bioavailable in the euthyroid individual. Peak absorption is achieved at approximately 2 hours after oral ingestion but can be delayed to 3-4 hours if it is ingested simultaneously with interfering medications, supplements, or some foods/drinks.
Caffeine in coffee and other caffeinated beverages can affect the absorption of levothyroxine by making the drug pass through your gut too quickly. This can cause your T4 hormone levels to drop or fluctuate. In studies, coffee reduced the body’s absorption of thyroid medications by about 30%. That’s why experts recommend that you wait at least 60 minutes after drinking coffee to take levothyroxine.
Most doctors recommend that you wait for at least 6 hours after taking levothyroxine before taking coffee and other foods that decrease its absorption such as soybean flour, cottonseed meal, walnuts, dietary fiber, calcium, and calcium-fortified juices. These foods should be avoided within several hours of dosing if possible.
People who take levothyroxine are also advised to drink a full glass of water when taking the pill to reduce the risk of choking or gagging on the tablets.
Beyond food interaction with coffee, levothyroxine can also interact with the following medications calcium carbonate, aluminum-containing antacids, sucralfate, iron supplements, cholestyramine, sevelamer, and, possibly, ciprofloxacin, raloxifene, and orlistat.
